What Would Synlait Be Worth to Fonterra or a2 Milk?
Speculation of a possible joint move by Fonterra and a2 Milk to buy Synlait raises a much bigger strategic question, says agribusiness expert Dr Nic Lees.
OPINION: This old mutt has to giggle when organisations try to jump on bandwagons.
A recent example is when Fonterra decided it would get in on the International Women's Day trend.
However, its attempt to show just how woke it is turned out to be a PR fiasco.
Firstly, the dairy co-op announced it would hold a special panel to mark International Women's Day with a discussion on 'breaking the bias'.
Problem was all the members of its discussion panel were men.
Predictability, social media - i.e. people with too much time on their hands - took umbrage and outrage about the gaff.
Fonterra was then forced to quickly backtrack and include a couple of women in the panel, as well as apologise for being such a terrible sexist, unthinking monstrosity.
Maybe the dairy co-op should just stick to collecting, manufacturing and selling milk and leave the PC, woke claptrap to others.
An Auckland gelato shop and an established New Zealand ice cream maker have both been named Supreme Champions at the NZ Ice Cream & Gelato Awards 2026.
As the cost-of-living crisis continues to put pressure on household grocery budgets, new figures show pork remains one of the most affordable fresh meat options for New Zealand families.
OPINION: In politics, credibility is and should be big. It must surely rank higher than charisma, which is quite trite and superficial. Yet, voters nowadays are often wooed and influenced by how someone looks or talks at a superficial level. TV plays a huge role in this.
Farmers can spend less time on paperwork, thanks to a new data sharing agreement between DairyNZ’s DairyBase and LIC’s MINDA software.
Kaikōura families affected by July's severe storm have found a practical solution to a problem that's kept some children away from regular schooling for weeks: a washed-out section of Inland Kaikōura Road, which has stopped the local school bus from running its usual route.
Rural New Zealand is welcoming the Government’s recent package of rural healthcare initiatives.

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